Sharpened, Not Softened: Meeting This Moment (EP 365)

In extreme times, the Body of Christ can't afford to be passive and polite. Drawing from the latest Smart Edit newsletter, Brian Del Turco explores holy provocation—the biblical call to sharpen one another toward love and good deeds. Discover why speaking truth in love isn't optional, how Millennials and Gen Z are driving a Bible reading resurgence, the power of Micah 7:8's declaration over chaos ("When I fall, I will arise"), and the Japanese principle of Kaizen applied to spiritual growth. This isn't about being comfortable—it's about being sharpened, not softened, to meet this moment. Subscribe to the Smart Edit newsletter at jesussmart.com/smartedit for weekly kingdom insights.

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See the full episode transcript below.

👉 Enhanced show notes: JesusSmart.com/365

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT: Sharpened, Not Softened: Meeting This Moment

Welcome to the podcast. This is Brian Del Turco, Jesus Smart X, episode 365, and we have something a little different today. I'm pulling from the latest Smart Edit newsletter—a few elements that I produce.

And if you're not subscribed yet, I really hope you will be. The Smart Edit exists to spark our development in Christ. It's not just content and ideas to consider, but truth and reality to live in. It's free, it's weekly, five minutes to grow, and you can subscribe at jesussmart.com/smartedit.

Before we get to that, I want to mention something remarkable. According to Edison Research's Share of Ear Study, we have hit a historic tipping point. Americans now spend more of their spoken-word listening time with podcasts than with traditional talk radio. Podcasts are at roughly 40% of spoken-word audio time, and it edges out AM/FM talk radio at 39%. That's an inflection point.

To give you a point of reference, back in 2015, AM/FM talk radio held 75% of spoken-word listening versus podcasting at only 10%. But by quarter four 2025, it flipped for the first time—39% radio, 40% podcasts. We're living in a podcasting revolution. I'm grateful you're part of it here with Jesus Smart X.

If you missed last week's episode, episode 364, "Grease the Groove: Spiritual Strength Training for Extreme Times," go back and catch that. We explored how micro spiritual workouts throughout your day can build resilient, responsive faith and a strong spirit. I'm seeking to employ this protocol in my own days. There's edges that need attention in my life, and I've got to stop thinking that I need huge blocks of time to address this in prayer. This concept of greasing the groove, which comes from athletics, can be applied to anything.

Holy Provocation: Sharpened for This Time

As I mentioned, this episode is a little different. We're pulling from the newsletter, featuring some elements there. Here's the first element: Holy Provocation—Sharpened for This Time.

The body of Christ was never really meant to be passive nor polite. Now, kindness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. There's no doubt about that. But you can be kind, discerning, resolute, and impactful at the same time.

There's a couple verses in the New Testament which specifically address this—Hebrews 10:24-25. The kingdom calls us to provoke one another toward love and good deeds that we're meant to walk in. And this New Testament word for "provoke" carries the sense of stirring up, urging somebody on, exciting somebody toward action.

Now, here's the question for me, for you: Are we open to being a kingdom provocateur? Or are we just going to ride the pews, be passive, be kind and polite, and not in a godly way agitate for change and transformation which meets this hour?

It's not intentional offense, though I'm going to be honest—some may be offended because when they're challenged, what it is is a holy push toward leveling up. Did you happen to see the intensity of the gold medal hockey game, men's hockey game in the Olympics? The United States defeated Canada in overtime. You can be assured that those teammates do not coddle one another to experience that level of winning. They sharpen each other. Excellence was demanded because the winning mission required it.

And there are edges in your life, in my life, that we need to win on, that we need to reconcile and bring for the kingdom. Maybe it's getting out of debt so we can be freed up with space and time to help facilitate our kingdom contribution. It could be anything though. Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another." There's a proverb which says that faithful are the wounds of a friend.

→ Read the enhanced show notes at jesussmart.com/365

In the Old Testament, Joel the prophet prophesied that there would be a time—and we're in that time now—when God would pour out His Spirit and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Prophecy does more than speak words. It reveals the heart of God. It can reveal the condition of the church, the pulse of society, certainly the condition of our hearts. In a real sense, prophecy, or having a prophetic point of view and having the trust between members in the body of Christ where giftings can be employed—it's getting closer to God's point of view on something. And that's what we want. That's what leads us to more fruitful, successful, impactful prayer and even prayer-born action steps.

But too often our—I'm putting it in air quotes now—"Churchianity" tends to default to and drift toward comfort, institutional self-protection, hopefully not, but sometimes leadership ambition which begins to eclipse really what Jesus is building, or fear of disapproval.

Paul said in Ephesians 4:15 that we can speak the truth in love, and as we do, we will grow to become in every respect—this is the actual verse in the NIV—we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is Christ.

We love the church. Christ is building her. But love does not compromise. Love sacrifices. It calls upward. When did we begin to think that love is love but it's never based in reality or truth? Real love is based in ultimate reality, and it has the highest good in view.

Here's what I can't seem to escape, and that's this: the thought that if we're going to meet this hour that we are in, if we're going to be faithful, we're going to have to harden ourselves a little bit and begin to more progressively walk worthy of the calling of Christ together as members of the body of Christ.

There's no reason why in a godly way, spouses cannot challenge each other. Friends, members in the church, that tight band of believers that you run with, maybe that project team that you're leading—there's simply no reason. And we just need to become more secure, more about excellence, more about the ambition of Christ Himself, and just not feel that we have to get into some kind of safe space and that we can never be confronted or can never confront or challenge.

Your voice matters. Your courage matters. And your willingness to receive challenge from others matters too. So here's the call to action: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you where your voice can awaken, encourage, and strengthen others, and where your voice—and my voice, I'm looking in the mirror—where we need to receive right-sizing, correction, or sharpening. It's going to help us. It's going to elevate our kingdom game, if we can put it that way.

There's another related Smart Edit newsletter called "The Proximity Effect"—the importance of drawing near to the right people and the effect that they have on you and that you have on them.

Signals and Shifts

We have a section in this most recent newsletter which we call Signals and Shifts. I'll just briefly touch on a few of the points here. An encouraging point is that Millennials and Gen Z are driving a Bible reading comeback. According to Barna, weekly Bible engagement among U.S. adults has rebounded to 42%, and that is—listen—a 12-point jump from its 15-year low back in 2024.

So from 2024 it jumped 12 points. That's now up to 42%. This has been documented by numerous reporting and research. There is a Bible reading resurgence going on, and we think that this is indicative of people searching for meaning.

Another point we have in this Signals and Shifts section is Jonathan Cahn issues a warning that the dragon of Revelation 12 is rising. He says the dragon is a mega figure, but we need to remember that victory is meant to be the natural state of authentic Christ followers. You can chase that link there.

Another link: 25 tips that save money from a resource called the Penny Hoarder. This section, Signals and Shifts—quick hits where faith, culture, and global currents intersect—we try to curate some resourcing...